A/N: Hey guys! Welcome to my newest story, "Facade." It's my first ever AU fic, beginning in a school setting and ending up...well... I don't want to ruin the surprise. Anyway, I've been excited about this story for a long time, especially since the latter half will take a darker turn. It will definitely be intense, that's for sure.

BIG NOTE: This was the first story I ever wrote (though it was an original story at first, not pokemon) and thus, my writing style and the subject matter/characters may not be up to par with what my writing is now (though I still believe the concept of the story is good). There willbe a few certain cliches and some characters may show "sue" like qualities at the beginning of the story (will be more fleshed out and flawed later on). This is all because the first 50,000 words of this story were written over a year ago when I had very little knowledge about story telling and writing. The reason I'm keeping most of the story true to how it was originally written is because I will always be proud of the first major story I started writing. While Ash/Gary/etc. may seem like "sue" characters in this chapter, I will do my best to make them deeper, more morally flawed characters in the future. These themes will be explored once the story gets past the School Arc. Anyway, if characters that exert some sue qualities aren't your thing, then this story probably isn't going to be for you. But if you can tolerate it or even like it, then please read on.

Death and dark themes will definitely be explored in this story, so keep that in mind while reading.

Characters will also be OOC (Out of Character) in the story.

Enjoy!

EXTENDED SUMMARY: Ash Ketchum. A boy hated by his peers. A loser. Ash Ketchum. A boy who'd lost everything. A boy who was forced to mask who he truly was. A selfless man, willing to sacrifice who he is for people that don't care about him in the slightest. Both were the same person, but the world only saw one... After an incident that ripped everything he held dear from his life, Ash Ketchum was forever forced to change who he was, to become a master of keeping up a facade. With only a select few knowing who he truly is, Ash is forced to live a life of isolation. But as things begin to change and people become curious, the darkest part of his past makes a return; his greatest nightmare come true.

Ash Ketchum...a man who will do anything to protect those around him.

Anything.

Ash: 18

Gary: 18

Paul: 18

Kenny: 18

Barry: 17

May: 18

Dawn: 18

Misty: 18

"Stand for what is right. Even if it means standing alone." - Unknown

Facade

'Why?'

It was a question he'd been asking himself more and more these days.

Why did it happen to him?

Was it because some higher power thought he could handle it?

Did someone want his life to be as difficult as possible?

Was this all just some sort of sick test? A joke, maybe?

No matter how many times he asked himself these questions, he never got any closer to an answer. Because of this, he never allowed himself to dwell on it for long. This was the hand life had dealt him and he'd accepted that, as long and as painful as it was to do so.

Alone after just 8 years on this earth. No parents, no relatives, no friends...

...nothing.

He learned from an early age that being angry wouldn't solve his problems, it would only succeed in hurting others. Bringing people down with him was something he would not allow himself to do. He would not let anyone else feel the pain and fear that he lived with on a daily basis.

This was his life, it had been for a long time. The only things he had left of his past self were a few pictures and his name, which was one of the few things he had left from his parents...

Ash Ketchum.

Ash Ketchum, a man who had a near endless list of reasons to be bitter, to hate the world...and yet...

...he didn't.

Although he'd slowly become somewhat accustom to the life he had to live, it did make things a lot harder. Everything, really.

Ash had been fairly lucky in the sense that his life in the foster care system had been much more consistent than most. It's not too hard when no one wanted to adopt you.

Ash had been rooted in the same group home that he had bee placed in when he was first orphaned all those years ago. The home he resided in was in the town of Pallet, and the school he attended just north of where he lived in Viridian City.

Now a senior in high school, things had become even harder. Many say that the years spent in high school are some of the best. For others, it's a time of great stress, sadness and hatred. But even those people had it better than Ash.

Because high school was filled to the brim with the one thing he had to avoid.

People.

Ash was the definition of a loner, his 'personality' thwarting any hope of finding someone who cared for him. He would never allow anyone to become a friend, a partner...

...family.

Certain circumstances made it this way. It was these circumstancesthat quickly made him realize that he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he allowed the selfish desires in his mind take over. Though as the days continued to pass, the urge constantly grew stronger.

Even before any of this happened, his parents were the only family he had, and the only family he needed. In his young mind, he completely believed this to be true. But that truth was shattered horribly fast.

And by the time he learned of the real truth, it was already too late...

*...Beep…*

*...Beep…*

Ash sat up quickly in his bed, sweating and breathing heavily, only relaxing once he took in his surroundings. He wasted little time in slamming the snooze button on the alarm clock stationed next to his bed.

Ash was more than happy to wake up from his slumber, finally being able to escape the horrible nightmares of his past that often plagued his dreams.

Though, he didn't particularly enjoy his waking life all that much either, especially on this day in particular.

His birthday.

His 18th birthday.

Ash couldn't care less that today was supposed to be special. To Ash, everyday was the same, the occasion hardly mattered. There would be no cake, no celebration. Nothing. What was the point? A birthday was really nothing more than another tick mark of your existence.

Ultimately, it would be just another day of facing the world almost entirely alone.

"Happy birthday to me..." Ash muttered sarcastically to himself while rubbing the sleep out his eyes. He then climbed slowly out of bed, careful not to disturb the small yellow creature sleeping at the foot of his bed.

Ash then proceeded to trudge over to his closet. It didn't take him long to pick an outfit; Ash was never one to particularly care about 'fashion sense', which granted him this luxury.

Having this part of his morning routine completed, Ash lumbered to the bathroom to shower and prepare for the day.

Ash entered the bathroom and moved to the sink to brush his teeth. While doing so, he glanced at himself in the mirror. He was quite the imposing figure, standing at about 6' 4" and weighing somewhere around 225 pounds. His body was well toned and muscular, without being overly so. This was achieved by years of gruelingly painful training and exercise.

From a young age, Ash found exercise to be a good way to let out bottled up emotions, something he had plenty of. That, and he simply just enjoyed teaching himself new things.

Despite his commanding appearance, his youthful, but sturdy face and medium length, messy black hair made Ash seem softer and more approachable.

He truly had all the makings to be one of the popular kids. Tall, handsome, athletic. In all honesty, he should've ruled the school. But because of his personality, his attitude, any hope of that becoming a reality was thwarted before it could even begin.

Ash sighed as he glanced over the few light scars that lined his torso. Most had come from random incidents while training. Others however, had accumulated from various dangerous situations that he always seemed to find himself in.

Though, as cliché as it may sound, there was no way the marks and scars on his body could compare to the scars on his heart, and these physical marks only served to remind him of such.

Of course, one day always stuck out in his mind above the rest. The day everything was taken from him. The events of that day affected him more than anything else in his life, hurting him deeper than anyone could ever see. That day changed Ash, and even he knew it was for the worse.

Finally having washed up and making himself appear at least semi-presentable, Ash was ready to leave. He walked slowly out of his home with a backpack slung over his broad shoulders. Waiting for him outside, as always, was his best and only friend, Gary Oak.

Gary was the only person who'd ever truly gotten to know Ash...The only one who'd ever stuck around long enough to be able to do so.

Gary and Ash shared a few similar features. The both had similar hair styles, though Gary's hair was brown in color and spikier on the top. Their builds were somewhat similar as well, with Gary being just slightly thinner, though still packing muscle.

Despite this, their differences outweighed the similarities. Gary's face was the slightest bit softer and just had a different structure than Ash's. Although they did look the slightest bit similar, no one would accuse them of being related.

One difference between the two was Gary's extremely dark brown eyes, where as Ash's were a very light brown, almost hazel color. The biggest difference, however, was that he wasn't as tall or as strong as Ash. That being said, he was still by no definition a slouch.

Although Ash would never openly admit it, Gary was the only person that kept him sane in this existence he was forced into. He was usually much more upbeat than Ash, which rubbed off on him a great deal. The two seemed to even each other out perfectly.

The two'd met in the 8th grade. Though the circumstances in which they met were all but normal, their friendship developed excellently. In all honesty, the way Ash acted when Gary first introduced himself should have diluted the idea of him wanting to become his friend immediately. But for some reason, it didn't. And Ash was more than thankful for that.

"What's up Ash? Pumped up and ready to go? School's awaitin'!" said Gary, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Of course, Gary! You know me so well." Ash responded with sarcasm of his own.

"Oh, and by the way... happy birthday." Gary said nonchalantly, acting as if he'd only just remembered. His tone was betrayed by the action of him revealing a small gift from behind his back.

Ash let his eyes fall on the gift being presented to him before looking back to Gary with uncertainty, "Come on Gary, you know I'm not much of a birthday person..."

Gary sighed before responding; he'd been expecting Ash to say something like this.

"Listen, I know that there's more than just one anniversary today...I know it's not fair that it happened, and on your birthday no less. But getting your mind off of it is exactly what you need right now, so just open your gift." Gary said, his voice firm.

Ash looked down in sadness as he was reminded of the traumatic event, but didn't shed a tear. In fact, the last time he'd cried was on that day all those years ago. The day his whole life changed.

Quickly regaining his composure, Ash looked back at Gary.

"Come on, Ash. It took me forever to find this. Just take it. Please." Gary pleaded.

"Fine." Ash sighed, sounding defeated as he took the gift from Gary.

Ash unwrapped the paper, only to find a picture encased within a cheap frame. He immediately proceeded to scan over the photograph.

The gift turned out to be a picture of Gary and Ash standing together, both sharing equally big smiles. What made this picture even more special, Ash recalled, was that it was taken the day that the two truly became friends. With that being said, this picture was actually taken months after the two had first met, Ash remembered. The raven haired man instantly recognized the deep meaning this photo held.

"You have no idea how hard it was to find that picture. I haven't seen it in years... I wanted to give this to you to remind you that you're never alone. Even when you feel like it on days such as today, I always got your back." Gary finished, reassuring his friend after sensing his uneasiness.

Today was a very hard day for Ash, and Gary knew that all too well. He wanted to do everything he could to help his best friend get through this, even if that meant getting sappy and sentimental for a while.

Gary's words did not surprise Ash in the slightest. Ever since the day the two had met, it seemed Gary always knew what he was thinking; he could read him like a book, and vice versa.

Ash looked at the picture again as a small smile crossed his face. It felt good knowing that even in a world where he was forced to be alone, there was still someone that he could count on. Ash liked to savor moments such as these, as this was one of the only times he felt true happiness anymore.

After running the picture back inside his 'home' and placing it delicately on the desk in his room, the two boys began their trek to school.

The two'd made sufficient progress, having walked for 5 minutes already. Walking side by side, the two boys turned a familiar corner, the corner where Pallet Town ends and Viridian City begins. Their progress was halted, however, when something impacted Ash's midsection. It didn't take a genius to realize that a person was on the other end of the attack.

As Ash staggered back from the punch while Gary went on the defensive, looking to see who had done this to his best friend. Though, even before he laid eyes on the assailant, he knew who it was...

His thoughts were confirmed as he looked up to see an all too familiar man, standing with an immense amount of cockiness plastered on his face in front of two others, all three with devilish smirks adorning their faces. Seeing the three men he despised the most, a scowl formed on Gary's face.

Ash did his best to recover from the punch to his stomach, muttering a name out of his mouth as he struggled to regain his breath,

"Paul." Ash said darkly

"What's up Ketchump!" Paul said with a laugh and a malicious smirk. "Looks like you're a little winded there. You better catch your breath, because we're just getting started!"

As Gary glared at the three men opposing him, Ash's mind wandered to when this all first began; it'd been a while since he'd thought about it. As much as it sucked to say, interactions such as this were commonplace, and had been since the sixth grade when Paul first transferred to the Viridian school system.

Flashback

As the new kid in school, Paul was very shy and standoffish, keeping to himself most of the time. In the first few months of the school year, Ash couldn't remember him saying more than two words to anyone, even the teachers. Another strange thing he noticed about the boy was that he almost exclusively wore long sleeve shirts. This wouldn't have been odd if the temperature was cooler, but for months it sat above 80 degrees fahrenheit, or 26.7 celsius.

When he first noticed this anomaly, he nearly shrugged it off, crediting it to personal preference. But Ash had always been extremely perceptive, and he discovered the real truth with the occasional small glimpses of Paul's arms that he got. After a while, it wasn't difficult for Ash to realize why he dressed the way he did...

What he was trying to hide.

With everything he'd been through, Ash'd was forced to mature quickly, much quicker than other kids. He was forced to learn things no person his age should have to. It was this that allowed him to pick up the hints immediately, to piece it all together. They were there too often for it to have been just random occurrences. Not only that, but sometimes, they were intense. Dark.

The bruises, that is.

Never being one to jump to conclusions, he tried to convince himself that these marks could've been caused by a number of things. But Ash knew better. He knew it could only be one thing.

Paul was being abused.

At first, Ash became furious over the revelation. How could no one else have noticed this? Teachers were supposed to help protect students, right? Then why weren't they helping Paul?

Though, he realized quickly that he couldn't really blame them. Paul hid the bruising well and if it hadn't been for Ash's keen eye, it was likely no one would have ever found out.

Ash had often times thought of going to a teacher with this information, but ultimately never did, thinking that despite how horrible it was, it wasn't his place to share something like this. Not until he got Paul's consent.

Watching as no help seemed to come for the boy, all Ash could do was view him from afar with compassion and concern.

No matter how Ash seemed on the outside, on the inside he fit the dictionary definition of a good person. Caring, sweet, loyal, these were all words that would describe who Ash truly was; the person the waking world never saw.

Seeing a kid going through something like this crushed Ash inside. He knew the consequences of what he was planning on doing, even at just age twelve, but in a lapse of judgment, he decided he needed to at least try to help. That he couldn't sit idly by any longer.

"Hi, you're Paul, right?" asked Ash, having approached the purple haired boy in the corner of the room.

"Yeah, what's it to you?!" Paul hissed back. Ash was taken aback by his tone. He couldn't think of any reason Paul wouldn't like him, so his aggressive response stunned him momentarily.

Based on this alone, Ash assumed that Paul must use anger to deal with whatever personal tragedies came his way, a common coping method for many. But no matter how often this road was taken, it was something Ash refused to do, even if it might've appeared to be otherwise to those who didn't know him.

Despite the shock caused by the initial outburst, Ash continued, not wanting to waste any time.

"I-I noticed the bruises on your arms." Ash pointed to the boy's arms, which he didn't have to see to know were black and blue. Subconsciously, Paul pulled his sleeves down as far as they could go, "I think I know what you've been going through and I just thought I would let you know that you aren't the only one that lives in fear. You aren't alone, even if you feel that way. You can get help for this."

Ash made sure to speak as calmly and sincerely as he could. Paul didn't respond immediately, leaving Ash waiting patiently for a reply. However, the response he so eagerly awaited never came. The only thing that did come was a fist that met his face with great force.

Ash collapsed into a heap on the ground, his head flying down and his hands flying to his right cheek where he'd just been struck. What Paul couldn't see with his head down was the look of complete and utter shock on Ash's face.

Sure, even then he was a nobody, a loser disliked by most everyone, but no one had ever hit him before.

"YOU DON'T KNOW ME OR WHAT I'M GOING THROUGH SO WHY DON'T YOU BACK OFF AND MIND YOR OWN BUSINESS. I AIN'T SCARED OF NOTHING!" Paul screamed, his face showing nothing but intense fury. At this point, the other kids in the classroom were all looking their way, as well as the teacher.

After the punch, Ash momentarily thought about hitting Paul back, the shock and anger of what'd happened having claimed him for a moment. And he was confident that he could have easily gotten up and beaten Paul in a fight.

But despite that, he did no such thing.

Instead, Ash regained his footing slowly, looking at Paul with nothing understanding in his eyes. He then walked away as if nothing happened, never once looking back.

Despite what'd happened that day or any subsequent day that followed, not once had Ash felt the desire to tell anyone of Paul's secret out of revenge. No matter how much he disagreed with them, he understood his actions.

Over the years, despite his troubles at home, Paul was able to meet people that shared a similar personality to himself. Two boys, Barry and Kenny, ended up becoming his best friends. These two managed to get the boy to open up, though never about his past, and he quickly became more outgoing and almost universally liked by most. Well, everyone he didn't consider a loser.

Unlucky for Ash however, Paul's two new friends seemed to share the same passion for inflicting pain as Paul did. Since they'd become friends, the three men made sure that Ash's life was even more miserable than it already was.

Something, they didn't know was impossible. Because at this point...

...there was almost no way anyone could make it worse...

End Flashback

Now, Ash sat on the ground next to a fuming Gary, an all too familiar scene to everyone involved.

Since he'd first met them, Gary had always held a deep seeded hatred for these three. When Ash and Gary became friends, he'd also unknowingly signed on to being harassed by these three boys.

Gary had always desired to fight back, having confidence that this would end this senseless harassment for good. And despite the fact that it would be a three on two matchup, both Gary and Ash were confident that even despite this, they would come out on top.

This confidence stemmed from Ash's intense training regimens. Despite having started with no knowledge of anything related to fitness or sport, Ash eventually managed to teach himself many different things with the help of books, internet videos, and many, many hours of practice.

Kick boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jujitsu, bits and pieces of Tai Kwan do, and his favorite activity, Kendo were all various arts he partook in. Both boys found a thrill in teaching themselves these things, their only teachers being whatever books they could find on the subjects. They definitely were not the best in the world at any of them but considering everything they knew was self taught, their level of skill was very impressive.

Years after the two boys had become friends, Ash allowed Gary to join him in his training. He was hesitant at first, knowing his routine was intense. It wouldn't be too much of a stretch to say it would give a professional athlete a decent challenge.

But after seeing the fire in his eyes, Ash knew that his best friend would be able to handle it. That moment had taken place nearly four years ago and at this point, the two were definitely skilled in what would almost certainly be considered mixed martial arts.

Another contributing factor was the fact that Gary and Ash were both larger and stronger than any of the three offenders. But that hardly seemed to matter to the three assailants.

After all, the two had never retaliated.

The only thing stopping Gary from attacking was the knowledge of how Ash would react if he did as such.

Whenever Gary proposed the idea of fighting back, Ash would always refuse. And despite his many inquiries as to why he wouldn't fight, he could never get a clear answer out of his closest and only friend.

While Gary was overflowing with desire to attack the three men in front of him, Ash remained seated on the ground, glaring at the three men in front of him.

Barry and Kenny were brothers, and that showed through their similar facial structure and slim builds. Kenny was the older of the two, but not by much; less than a year separated the two boys. In fact, it was a such a minuscule time difference that their parents found it okay to put Barry in the same grade as his brother, rather than being in the class below him. Kenny had scruffy brunette hair, a pale complexion and cold brown eyes.

Barry, although looking somewhat similar to his brother, also had his differences. For one, Barry was taller than his brother by about an inch, making him somewhere around 5' 11". His hair was also much longer than his brother's, his bangs falling just above his eyebrows when he didn't style his hair into the usual messy up-du he had now. The key difference however, was his eyes.

And it wasn't just Barry's orange-brown eyes that made the difference. They seemed almost...softer, slightly more welcoming than the cold glare that Kenny's seemed to hold. Though, that look was betrayed by his actions on almost every occasions.

Paul though...Paul was different.

He stood about 6'0" and had long, purple hair which went along well with his extremely dark brown eyes. He was also in much better shape than his two friends, his inclination for sports being the reason.

Ash and Paul locked eyes for a moment, staring silently at each other for just a few seconds. Paul was shooting daggers at Ash, but the boy never backed down.

"Why don't you jut leave us alone!? We have never done anything to you and yet, you still torment us! Why?!" Screamed Gary who looked as if he was about to rush Paul at any second. Ash noticed this and quickly got up, positioning himself between the two men.

"Why?" Paul laughed. Then, in the blink of an eye, he turned deadly serious, "WHY?! ...Because it's a good way to relieve stress." Paul finished in a disturbingly calm tone with a sadistic smirk adorning his lips.

Hoping Gary would continue to control himself, Ash proceeded over to Paul, standing over him and allowing the man to finish what he knew he'd come here to do. Gary simply watched in disbelief, even though his friend had done this very same thing many times before.

"At least you're not a total pussy like your friend over here." Paul smirked as he gestured to Gary.

"You better watch it, Paul." Gary said seriously, the implication of his words causing Barry and Kenny to rush over to him and grab his arms. Gary didn't struggle, remembering what Ash always told him to do. Instead, he just watched as his friend began to speak.

"Just do it." Ash said calmly. As he raised his chin to allow Paul to perform the final blow.

Paul smirked before he reared his fist back and plunged it into Ash's jaw. His chin busted open, blood slowly leaking from the small wound. Ash stumbled back before eventually falling to the ground, his facial expression only shifting to that of someone in pain for a moment before returning to its normal stoic expression. He knew how to take a punch and mask any pain he felt; he had quite a bit of practice in that department.

Paul shook out the pain in his hand and laughed along with the two brothers, one of whom had just delivered a swift knee to Gary's abdomen, causing the boy to tumble over, unable to breathe.

Paul laughed again. However, seemingly out of nowhere, his expression changed to one of great darkness, "Pathetic..." he muttered before walking away with the brothers following close behind, still laughing their heads off.

Ash wiped the blood off of his chin from the small cut before standing up and helping Gary back to his feet. Instead of a word of thanks for the help, all Ash received was an angry stare.

"Why can't we just kick their asses, just once! If we do, they will lay off of us forever! They won't have a choice! Just one time, that's all it will take! You know I'm right!" Gary begged but as he suspected, Ash just shook his head.

"No, Gary. I've told you a million times before, that's not the type of people we want to be. I only fight when I absolutely need to and the same should apply to you." Ash said firmly.

"And you're saying that this isn't a situation where we need to fight? That Paul and his merry band of idiots don't deserve it?" barked Gary, still steaming from the incident.

"Yeah, that is what I'm saying." Ash said seriously, sounding determined to drill this into Gary's mind., "There's too much bad in this world, Gary. There has to be some good to even it out. Even if it's something as simple as not fighting back against a troubled kid."

Gary's thoughts momentarily shifted as he heard Ash mention the balance of good and evil.

"You're talking about him again, aren't you." Gary asked, all anger suddenly leaving his body, instead being replaced by the feeling of concern.

Ash didn't respond verbally, but the sigh and the dejected look on his face told Gary all he needed to know.

Deciding to stray away from the sensitive topic, Gary spoke about something Ash'd said that didn't seem right to him, "Wait a minute, did you just say that Paul is troubled?! Him and his little clique are the most popular kids in school! How is he 'troubled'?"

Breaking form his thoughts, Ash responded, "You just have to trust me on this, Gary. Fighting back isn't the right thing to do in this situation. Now... I'd rather not talk about Paul anymore."

It was hard to find a retort for what Ash had just said. Gary always had total trust in his friend; it seemed that he always had everything figured out, even when they both knew that was untrue.

Although his grades don't show it, Ash was one of the smartest people that Gary had ever known. Ash was extremely wise for a person of just 18. Sadly however, great wisdom typically came with a price; a saying that was definitely true in Ash's case as most of this knowledge had come from traumatic experiences in his life.

Allowing what Ash said to resonate in his mind, Gary replied with a simple nod of his head.

Gary's words, however, rang true to Ash as well. Paul was no longer the troubled boy he'd met in the sixth grade. In the seventh grade, his abusive father was killed by alcohol poisoning, freeing Paul and his mother from his reign of terror. This was something, despite the morbidity of it, Ash was extremely grateful for.

Paul's mother wasted little time in remarrying as not two years later, she wed a successful small business owner. After all of these events transpired, Paul's life changed for the better. He became a lot more social and made many more friends with all of the jocks and popular girls in the school.

His hatred for his biological father still lingered, however, and reared its ugly head whenever he would see Ash and Gary. For some reason, they just brought out the demon inside of him. Because of this, they became something like his personal punching bags. And despite the pain it caused them, they let this be, all to allow him to let out his frustration.

That's not to say that they hadn't tried to reason with the man. When the harassment first started, Ash let Paul know that he needed a better way to let out his anger, that he couldn't just go around beating people up just to placate himself. Paul only laughed and said, "This method seems to work pretty well for me! And why fix what's not broken?"

Ash knew at that point that even if he'd somehow gotten Paul to stop abusing himself and Gary, he would just find someone else to take their place. And no matter how awful it was for him, he wasn't going to allow that to happen.

It wouldn't be a far cry to say Ash knew Paul better than he knew himself. Having been that kid struggling to deal with life himself, it really wasn't that difficult; anyone that actually took the time to look would probably see it too.

To Ash, it was plain to see that Paul was still broken on the inside and hid behind a cheap facade. Despite all the pain and suffering he caused him, Ash couldn't help but feel sorry for the young man. He knew all to well what it was like having to go through life as someone different than who they really were.

"Let's just get to school before we're late." Ash said, shaking out of his thoughts as he checked his phone to find the time. He momentarily wondered to himself why he even had a phone in the first place. After all, he really had only one person to call, and he saw that person everyday. He shrugged it off before looking at the time, finding it to be 7:55.

The two were still a good mile from the school, and classes began at 8 o clock. With no time to waste, Ash tapped Gary's shoulder, telling him that they had to hurry, and took off running as they desperately tried to make it to school on time.

Their homeroom teacher, Mrs. Kilnes, absolutely hated tardiness and what made things worse was the fact that she already hated Ash and Gary.

The two kept to themselves in school, not that they had much of a choice since they had no other friends. The two teens were both fairly smart, but didn't work hard in school. In fact, it wasn't rare to find them sleeping in their classes throughout the school day.

They only tried their hardest when they deemed what was being taught to be necessary information and didn't give much effort on anything else. It seemed to everyone that they were the perfect definition of the word 'slackers.'

What made the teachers despise them, however, was the fact that despite the fact that they almost never put forth any effort, they'd never actually failedanything. Their test grades were fairly good, proving that they actually did have capable minds, though, their overall grades didn't necessarily show it. C's and D's were common final course grades for both boys, with maybe a B every now and then. Without doing anything except the tests, it was quite literally the best they could do.

But whether they tried in school or not, they hated being late.

"Come on Gary, if we're late Mrs. Kilnes is going to give us another detention and I am really starting to get sick of those things!" Exclaimed Ash, whom was breathing heavily, as Gary trailed behind his faster friend.

"I'm...trying...but...can't...breathe." Gary wheezed. He was definitely panting harder than his companion. Gary made a mental note to start doing more cardio.

They had already sprinted at least a mile when they reached the front of Viridian High School. Ash quickly swung open the doors and dashed toward Mrs. Kilne's room. Gary was still trailing behind Ash, even further now that he was dead tired. Normally running this far wouldn't have left him in a state quite this bad, but he was still recovering from a rather hard workout the day before.

Despite his exhaustion, Gary was happy he would be able to get some sleep during whatever pointless lecture Mrs. Kilnes had planned for the day.

Ash finally arrived at the door, almost completely out of breathe as he reached for the handle. Much to his dismay, the handle didn't budge when he pushed on it.

"Damn it..." Ash mumbled to himself, doing his best to catch his breath as he glanced at the clock in the hallway to see it was now 8:01. Although he was proud pf both himself and Gary for running a mile in just about six minutes, they were now officially late. Ash sighed, then knocked on the door as Gary finally arrived beside him.

"Finally...we're...here." Gary said, gasping for breath.

The sound of heels tapping on the tile floor echoed from inside the room then slowly, the door began to open from the inside. In the freshly opened doorway, stood a very miffed Mrs. Kilnes.

"Boys, you're late! Detention for both of you, after school today!" Mrs. Kilnes shouted at them.

"Yeah yeah, we know..." Ash said under his breath, having recovered slightly, while walking to his seat in the back corner of the room. Gary followed behind, trudging to his seat near the front, still attempting to regain his breath.

Ash took a few more deep breaths before returning to relative normalcy. As he sat down, he mentally prepared himself for the day. Internally, he flipped the switch that would put him in what he liked to call 'school mode.'

Ash's demeanor in school, in public, was completely different than when he was with Gary alone. At school, he was almost always silent. He never had a question or an answer and he kept to himself for nearly the entirety of every school day. If someone would try to talk to him, besides Gary, he would either do his best to ignore the person or, for the more persistent ones, be a complete and utter jerk to them. As a result of his actions, he'd built up a pretty negative reputation throughout the school...

...which was exactly what he hoped to do.

Only Gary knew the reason that Ash acted the way he did when in actuality, he was completely different on the inside; it was the same for him after all. The only time he would ever speak was at lunch, as that and homeroom were the only two classes the two friends had together. And even at lunch, Ash kept his conversations concise and quiet.

Ash didn't mind homeroom, however, even despite the fact that he was on the complete other side of the room from Gary, and the fact that he had Mrs. Kilnes as a teacher. What made the class somewhat bearable the person that sat next to Ash. Well, next to and one seat ahead of him.

She was a breathtakingly beautiful brunette girl with long, silky hair that formed somewhat of an upside down V shape, sparkling blue eyes, and a beautiful face as well. She was tall for a girl, about 5' 9".

Despite her height, she was no beanpole; she had an extremely attractive natural hourglass figure that had boys constantly ogling at her. It was easy to tell that she didn't particularly like all the attention, but she was much too nice to say anything to those brazen enough to stare.

She dressed like your average teenage girl, as shown by the clothing choice of the day, a simple red tee shirt with jeans that hugged every curve she had. The only thing different about her was her affinity for bandanas; a red one was sitting atop her head at this very moment.

The most beautiful thing about her, however, was her bright, vibrant smile. It just seemed to light up any room she entered, fitting perfectly with the month she was named after.

May.

Ash had the wherewithal to not blatantly stare at May, but he would more than occasionally steal glances at her. Normally, he wouldn't look twice at most other girls in the school as this only really served to depress him as he knew he could never be in a relationship.

But May was special somehow.

On top of being drop dead gorgeous, she was the only person besides Gary that had ever helped him without some sort of ultimatum. From what he could tell, she was just a genuinely good person.

May was incredibly popular. Of course, being an attractive girl in high school puts you on the fast track to popularity, but even besides her looks, it was obvious she had a very likable personality as well.

Ash could see why she was so well liked. The only thing that he disliked about May was the fact that she was in the same 'friend group' as Paul and his goons.

Although it appeared to the public that May and Paul were at least somewhat decent friends, if one looked close enough, it was easy to tell that they didn't get along with each other at all. Ash would often see them bickering when they were together and when their group would be walking down the halls, May seemed to stick closer to the others in the group, anybody but Paul.

In actuality, the two hardly interacted, even despite being in the same friend group. It was quite clear that May didn't actually like Paul very much, which begged the question: why would she hang out with them then?

If that wasn't enough evidence of her dislike toward the purple haired boy, she'd actually savedAsh from Paul once. It wasn't much, but sometime about a year ago, she'd stopped Paul from pulling a prank on him, something he still remembered vividly.

Flashback

A small trebuchet sat next to the table currently housing Paul and his friends. While this would normally be odd, the fact that Kenny was bringing it home from his shop class removed any and all suspicion.

Paul, Barry, and Kenny were currently filling the launcher to the brim with ketchup and mustard, as well as other solid foods to be used as projectiles. The target of the onslaught was, of course, Ash. They silently hoped the splatter would reach Gary as well.

Paul and his friends were obviously trying to be subtle. They set up the trebuchet so that when launched, most of the condiments would land on their target. They thought they were being sneaky, well, as sneaky as you can be with a three foot catapult, but in reality, they were not.

Ash was well aware of what Paul was doing, he usually was. He simply would glance over as to discreetly watch his tormentors set up the prank.

"Aren't you gonna move or something? You know what they're trying to do." Gary whispered to Ash as he slid over slightly to avoid what was to come. He was also typically wise as to what Paul and his buddies were trying to do.

Ash looked to Gary but didn't answer. He knew what was coming, but he decided to just let it happen. Most of the time, he would do his best to avoid pranks like this but today, he saw a possible benefit of allowing the prank to happen.

If his current ratty clothes were ruined, the school would be forced to give him some to finish out the day in. And he was hoping that he would be able to keep these clothes afterward, adding them to his small collection.

While Gary would give him old T-shirts, only a few fit as Ash had a larger build than his friend. Because of this and his lack of spending money, his wardrobe was more than limited.

And so, Ash waited until the condiments would hit him...

…

…

...but they never did.

Ash was extremely confused by this. Deciding he was curious enough to want to know what'd happened, he followed his friend's gaze, which was already on the scene.

There, about 100 feet from his own table stood May, yelling at Paul. It wasn't hard for not only Ash and Gary, but the whole cafeteria to hear, as it seemed May was screaming near the top of her lungs.

"Paul, what do you think you are doing!?" May screamed. "What has he ever done to you! It's not right to just pick on someone for no reason!"

Paul looked to be extremely surprised. He knew May didn't like it when he pranked Ash or Gary, and she absolutely hated it when she would hear about them actually hurting them, but she'd never reacted like this before. Although she rarely saw it happen, the years of hearing her friends talk about messing with these two boys finally must have snapped something within her.

As the yelling continued, Ash turned back to face his own table and lowered his head, his hair covering his eyes, leaving his facial expression a mystery to his best friend. He then looked up slightly, allowing Gary to see the smile on the man's face, instantly creating one on his as well.

Ash couldn't help it. No one, not even teachers, had ever stood up for him before. Even if it'd just been the principle of the thing that May didn't like and not actually to protect him specifically, it still made Ash feel good.

He felt good because this was evidence...evidence that even in a world shrouded in darkness...

There was still light.

Still in Flashback

What surprised Ash and Gary most was not Paul backing down from his prank, nor was it the look of fear which overcame Barry and Kenny' faces at May's near motherly scolding. But instead, it was May walking over to their table after she'd finished her rant, a genuine, friendly smile on her face.

She tried her best to look friendly, but Gary was still skeptical. She seemed genuine and kind, but how could a person with those qualities even associate themselves with Paul? Even with Gary's apprehension, Ash's defenses were slowly crumbling.

"Hi! I don't think we've ever officially met. My name is May!" She said with a huge grin, extending her hand toward Ash. The young man looked toward the outstretched hand, his mind a jumbled mess. He'd had moments of weakness in the past, but this one was definitely the worst its ever been

Ash was moments away from reaching out and shaking, but out of sheer willpower, he forced himself not to. He knew that he shouldn't.

No.

He couldn't.

He couldn't let her become any closer to him than she was at that moment. It was for her own good.

Ash quickly erased the small smile that had unconsciously formed from his face and retracted his hand from the air, leaving May's floating alone. Gary witnessed this, immediately realizing what Ash was doing. He'd seen, and ever participated in similar acts many times over the years.

Despite the frequency of this occurrence, he knew it never got any easier; it broke Ash a little more every time. That may have been the only benefit to having such a negative reputation, most people wouldn't try to talk to you. At least, after the first time.

May was puzzled as to why he wouldn't accept the handshake, but could only shrug it off, obviously not paying much mind to the negative reputation Ash had, "Well, I just wanted to introduce myself and say hello."

Gary locked eyes with the beautiful brunette, doing his best to show May that this conversation wouldn't go anywhere. Luckily, the look she received and the sight of Ash having already returned to his lunch, not even acknowledging she was there, seemed to have conveyed the message.

Ash desperately wanted to say something, and even though his willpower was at an all time low, he still he knew he couldn't. Though even while doing his best to believe his thoughts, his control was still on the decline.

May frowned at not getting a reaction out of him before turning around and walking away.

"Maybe he is like everyone says... I don't understand why he wouldn't talk to me. I did defend him after all. Maybe all the rumors about him really are true." May thought to herself, trying to rationalize what had just occurred.

However, these thoughts quickly evaporated as Ash began to speak, just loud enough for her to hear.

"Hey, May...Thanks."

This brought a grin to May's face as she continued to walk back to her regular table.

"I knew it! He's probably just really shy! Well, I feel better knowing that I talked to him." May thought.

He knew it could come back to bite him, but Ash couldn't bring himself to care at the moment. His willpower had hit zero in that moment. This girl had done something that no one ever had before, and she deserved thanks for it.

Ash turned to Gary, who was visibly shocked by the fact that he'd thanked her. Seeing his surprise, Ash spoke, "That proves that there are still good people out there. Seeing what I've seen, I was starting to lose hope, but now I know for sure... Some people still care."

Gary just nodded in agreement before both men glanced over at May, who had just returned to her table.

"I'll never forget this." Ash promised himself.

End Flashback

The harassment started happening less in school in the year following May's intervention, thanks to Paul not wanting to be chewed out by May again, especially in public.

May hadn't tried to speak to either Gary or Ash since that day over a year ago, but she still felt that she owed it to them to try to control her 'friend', despite the turmoil it caused in her already bumpy relationship with Paul, his friends, and his girlfriend, Misty.

Though the onslaughts weren't as prevalent in school, the beatings and pranks had become much more frequent out of school, where May was rarely around to stop Paul, Barry, and Kenny.

That wasn't to say that Ash and Gary were free from bedevilment at school. Where Paul left off, other students picked up. And while none ever went to the extremes that Paul did, the whispers and name calling came frequently.

This all stemmed from Paul's popularity. Because he was so popular, his control over the student body was incredibly high. When the other students saw Paul and his friends picking on Ash and Gary, they followed along, doing anything they could to help make the two boys' lives hell because it was 'the cool thing to do'.

Paul easily convinced others that Gary, and to a greater extent, Ash were total freaks. That rumor, along with how the two men acted in school made it pretty easy to believe the purple haired man.

The people that harassed Ash and Gary didn't know the first thing about them, though that didn't stop them from believing that they did. But to be fair, no one truly knew them at all. The two were an enigma, a mystery that no one had ever really had the desire to solve. Instead, they simply assumed whatever they heard to be fact.

Despite Gary and Ash's admittedly attractive appearance's, rumors constantly circulated about the two, blinding everyone from what they truly were. The ridiculous fabrications about their lives were plentiful, but the best Ash had ever heard was one including himself and pack of wolves having raised him. Others even spread the rumor that Gary had been in juvenal hall up until the year that he moved to town.

What the boys knew that others didn't was that these rumors could not have been further from the truth. Gary's story was one of much greater tragedy, coming from a broken home, much like Ash. The two were alike in that way. But unlike his friend, Ash had more than just a broken home.

He himself was also broken.

But of course, they kept their truths within their group of two, never desiring the pity of others.

Ash scoffed to himself as he thought about the concept of pity. Pity, as much as it was meant to be sincere, seemed to be damn near an insult. That those who felt it were looking down at the recipient. Ash preferred the word 'understanding' much more. And even though, some empathy would've been nice, it was just another luxury he couldn't afford.

Ash continued to let his mind linger as he stared out the window he was conveniently seated next to. That is, until his thoughts fell onto a topic that he knew he would have to face sooner or later. His thoughts drifted to the only thing in the world that scared him. The thing that had caused him so much pain. He fought through the anguish, however, because he knew he would need to tell Gary soon, as this news would effect him as much as it would himself.

Soon, he would have to face his greatest fear.

As Ash's thoughts roamed, his eyes wandered over to the only other person in the room that had ever really caught his eye. Though she was in fact beautiful in her own right, Ash frequently stole glances at her for another reason entirely. After all, they went way back, before any of this had even happened...

Ash snapped out of his thoughts as well as his gaze when a question from Mrs. Kilnes came flying his way.

"Ash, what year did the first war between Kanto and Unova begin?" The teacher questioned harshly, assuming Ash wouldn't know the answer.

What no one else knew was that Ash wasn't the idiot they thought him to be. If he actually applied himself, as cliché as it may sound, he could have passed all of his classes with A's; he was just naturally good at retaining information when he put his mind to it. Despite this, he was perfectly content with C's.

Though, this mentality tended to annoy his teachers. Gary's story was very similar, as he followed Ash's actions in almost every aspect of life. It wasn't what Gary wanted to, but it was what he signed up for when he became Ash's friend.

"Great... history..."Ash sighed internally.

"I don't know." Ash muttered, just loud enough for everybody to here.

"As I suspected. See class, this is a perfect example of what a failure looks like." Mrs. Kilnes said as she strutted over to Ash's desk and placed a hand on his head, "Someone that lacks motivation, drive...or any semblance of intelligence for that matter..."

Ash simply sat motionless in his seat, staring downward and silently taking the verbal attack his teacher was dishing out to him.

May felt herself becoming immensely upset at the fact that her teacher would publicly humiliate someone like this. She had no idea what he might be going through and yet, she had the audacity to throw verbal daggers at one of her students. She had no choice but to simply snarl and try to ignore it as she knew that she couldn't argue with a teacher. The fact that this woman could even be called a teacher with the way she acted made May sick. She very much hated her, even though Mrs. Kilnes liked her as a student.

On the other side of the room, Gary stood up, "Mrs. Kilnes, may I go to the bathroom?"

Gary didn't really have to go to the restroom, he was simply hoping the distraction would end the verbal abuse Mrs. Kilnes was dishing out to his friend.

"No! You're just as bad as your buddy over here!" Mrs. Kilnes screamed.

The rest of the room fell into a fit of laughter at the two losersgetting chewed out by their teacher. Paul was laughing the hardest out of them all.

Although she looked as if she was about to speak more, Mrs. Kline's was cut off by the ringing of the bell.

"Don't forget your homework for tomorrow," Mrs. Kilnes said "There's a quiz on Friday! That only gives you three days to study, so get to it!"

Everyone, including Mrs. Kilnes, piled out of the room, the last two left were Gary and Ash. Gary waited for his friend to pack up his things so they could leave this horrid place.

"Come on Ash, we're headed to the bathroom." Stated Gary plainly.

Ash looked at Gary with a strange look on his face.

"And exactly why do I have to go with you?" Ash asked incredulously.

"Because Paul and his idiot friends might be in there and you wouldn't want me to rip their heads off, now would you?" Gary replied with a hint of sarcasm, but also a grain of truth present in his voice.

Ash sighed, "Fine, but make it quick. I don't need another detention for bing late to my next class."

The two then walked to the bathroom which was luckily, completely empty. Gary turned the lock on the door to the public bathroom that was supposed to only be used by janitors when locking up the school at night. Though in his haste, Gary didn't realize that he hadn't actually managed to lock it...

"Perfect." Gary whispered to himself, noticing that the bathroom was empty.

Despite what he'd lead Ash to believe, Gary did no have to 'do his business'; he had an alternative motive as to why he brought Ash here.

Gary always had a great ability to read people, and the strongest connection for Gary was the one he had with Ash. So naturally, he could always tell when there was something wrong with him.

And right now.

There was definitely something wrong.

It may have seemed like a somewhat normal day for Ash, but Gary knew something was off.

Obviously, it was his birthday, a day Ash despised for... various reasons. However, the main thing that made Gary conclude that something was amiss, even more so than it normally would be on his birthday, was when he saw Ash sitting awake in homeroom. To see Ash awake during the majority of that class was a huge indicator that something was wrong.

With this in mind, Gary pulled Ash into the handicap stall where they could talk privately with sufficient space.

"Gary! What the hell? Why are you bringing me in here with you? I don't want to-" Ash was cut off by Gary's hand raising, signaling for him to be quiet.

"...Ash...what's up? What's wrong?" asked Gary, concerned. He really didn't feel like wasting time. They only had a out 8 minutes between classes, so they had to do this relatively quickly

"Wha- Nothing. What are you talking about? " Ash asked, confused.

"Ash, I've known you for a long time and I can tell when something is bothering you." Gary started, "Listen, I know how hard today is for you, but you're acting more down than usual. Even on a day like today."

Ash wasn't about to talk and Gary knew it. He needed to try a different approach. He sighed before beginning.

"I know it sounds like stupid therapist talk, but we really do need to talk about our problems so that we can concur them, especially those from the past." Gary spoke softly.

"And how do you know this has to do with my past?" Ash inquired, keeping his voice a whisper, much like his friend was doing.

"Doesn't every problem you have?" Gary responded. Upon hearing this, Ash sighed in defeat.

Just then, the door silently opened and in walked Barry, who was making his way to the urinal. As he was walking, he swore he heard someone talking. Allowing his curiosity to guide him, he walked towards the stalls that lined the back wall of the restroom. He listened closely and after a bit of time, recognized the voices to be those of Ash and Gary.

"What are they doing in a stall together? ...Oh man... are they gay? Wait until everyone gets a load of this!" Barry thought to himself, laughing silently. He decided to stick around and listen into their conversation to see what they might be telling each other.

"You have got to be kidding me, Gary... I don't want to tell you my life story again. It's hard enough dealing with the fact that it's been exactly 10 years since my parents were killed, and on my birthday no less!" Ash stated quietly, with a hint of anger evident in his voice.

Barry 's eyes widened in shock upon hearing Ash's words, "Did I just hear that right...? No...There's now way..."

Despite this thought, Barry was feeling conflicted. He was unconvincing, even to himself.

What Ash'd just said made Barry incredibly uncomfortable, even if he was hesitant to believe what he'd heard. Barry decided to keep listening to the conversation, giving in to the overwhelming desire to attain more information.

"Please just do it, Ash. If it'll help, then I'll even go first. Maybe that'll get you to talk." Gary sighed before beginning, "As you already know, my mom was killed by a drunk driver when I was six..."

Gary paused for a moment as he allowed the painful memory to surface, his emotions already beginning to overwhelm him, "I-I couldn't believe that my mom was gone. Just like that...poof. Out of my life forever. I was only six years old and I'd already lost my mother." Gary eyes began to water

Ash stared at him understandingly, he knew what is was like to lose the ones you love the most in the world.

"After her death, my dad went off the deep end. He started drinking more and more and neglecting all responsibility. He would leave me home alone for days at a time when he was off doing god knows what. He's still like this, even now. The only difference now is that I only have to see him for about a month out of the year. I can't even remember the last time I've seen him sober. I've done everything I can to help him, but nothing works. He's so god damn selfish! That old bastard!" Gary finished, taking a few deep breaths in order to calm down.

"And right now, my problem... my problem is that my best friend has a major issue that I want to help him with, but he's being too stubborn to talk about it." Gary added, already past his anger and beginning to recover from the somberness that overtook him during his tale.

Ash looked back at Gary's teary eyes, knowing that his friend was right. There was a huge problem, he could feel it. Ash thought he knew what it was, but he couldn't be totally sure. And if being able to tell Gary what he was feeling meant recounting the most horrific moment of his life, then so be it.

He relived it every night in his nightmares anyway.

And so, after a moment of silence, Ash began...

Flashback

"Mommy! Daddy! This has been the best birthday ever!" Screamed an 8 year old Ash, clearly ecstatic..

"I know sweetie! So you had fun today at your party with all of your friends?" said a 38 year old woman named Delia.

"Of course mommy! It was so much fun!" Exclaimed Ash as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

The 40 year old father, Richard, couldn't help but laugh at his son's antics.

The man now identified as Richard looked at his family and smiled. He couldn't help but allow his thoughts to shift to his family, "Ash is growing up so fast. He's kind of starting to look like me, too. I must be the luckiest guy in the world to have found a woman like Delia and to have a son like Ash."

"Hey guys, how about we go get some ice cream before we head home? I know its already dark out, but I could really go for something sweet." Questioned Richard

"Yeah dad, that sounds great!" Exclaimed Ash.

Both Delia and Richard smiled as the reached the conveniently located ice cream shop right across the street from the park. The group of three halted, however, as Richard noticed a sign in the window of the ice cream shop that framed the words "Cash only." He then reached into is pocket, only to find his credit card and ID with him.

"Delia, do you have any cash for the ice cream?" Richard asked.

"Sorry honey, but I left my purse at home." Delia responded.

"Okay, not a problem, we'll just find an ATM machine." Richard said positively.

The trio walked about 3 blocks from the shop until the spotted an old looking ATM machine embedded in the side of wall. Richard and Delia seemed slightly uncomfortable about the lack of lighting that surrounded the street and the ATM. Not only that, but their trek had also brought them back into their hometown of Pallet.

Despite the danger the town was known for, Pallet Town was the only place the family of three could afford to live. Walking after sunset in this place was always unnerving, but it seemed especially so on this night for some reason. Richard made note to take a cab back home after they'd gotten their ice cream; dishing out a bit of extra money was worth piece of mind in this case.

The three quickly approached the ATM and Richard inserted his card. Despite everything seemingly going fine, Richard couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching them. He decided it would be best to get this done quick, if only to settle his nerves.

He selected the amount he wanted to withdraw from his checking account and the money dispensed quickly from the machine. He grabbed the cash and placed it in his wallet before reaching for his wife's and son's hands.

Feeling glad to be able to leave the shady street, they began the walk back to the ice cream shop. However, they didn't get far before they were stopped by a man in a mask and a large, black trench coat, which matched the rest of his dark clothing.

Richard and Delia's worst nightmare seemed to be realized. They'd gone many years without any real trouble in Pallet Town, certainly an anomaly all things considered. Even though they hoped desperately that this man was just going to pass them, realistically it seemed their luck had run out.

Plus, there was always the fear of Richard's past coming back to haunt him, something he feared immensely. It wasn't fear for himself however, but fear for his wife and son.

The family of three looked on in fear. The way the man was standing indicated that he wasn't planning on letting the family pass. Feeling the primal need to defend his family, Richard stepped forward. As he took a step, he silently prayed that if anything, this was just a robbery...

"W-who are you? What do you want?" Richard asked hesitantly, knowing that the person was up to no good. The feeling of terror growing within the three grew with each second that passed. Despite that growing feeling, Richard still took another step forward, willing to protect his family at any cost.

No response came from the masked man. He simply stood his ground, his gaze sternly locked on the family. Despite the overwhelming feeling of terror, Richard tried his best to put on a brave face.

"Is it money? Do you want money? Here, take it!" Richard said before tossing the man his wallet, which contained all the money he had just withdrawn from the ATM.

The wallet bounced off of the man's chest and fell lamely to the ground. The man looked down at the wallet and cocked his head, almost as if he was confused. He then reached into his pocket, worrying the parents greatly; for all they knew, this man could have a gun.

But he didn't.

What he did have, however, was a lighter. He then proceeded to pick up the wallet, and remove all of the crisp new bills Richard had just withdrawn from it. Staring at the money intently, the man in the mask sparked the lighter until a bright flame appeared.

Without hesitation, the man slowly brought the flame to the money, setting it ablaze. Everyone in attendance watched as the bills slowly turned to ash in the man's gloved hand. When the cash was nothing more than hot remains, he returned his gaze to the family in front of him.

Richard's eyes widened when his gaze met that of the masked man's. He was petrified. Since he hadn't accepted the money, he had no idea what this man wanted. All he knew that this was not just a simple robbery...

And is strange as it my sound, that was a very bad thing.

The man then backed away before placing the lighter back into his trench coat's inner pocket. Then, with his gloved hands, he unsheathed what looked to be a small sword. It wasn't long enough to be considered a sword, but it also wasn't short enough to be a dagger. But no matter what it was, it still looked to be extremely sharp.

Everyone's eyes grew wide at the sight of the blade glistening under the pale moonlight. Ash was now crying hysterically and cowering in fear as Richard and Delia's knees trembled.

"Ash." Richard started breathlessly as he took a step back toward his family. "Run."

Ash looked up at his father in shock before shaking his head; He wasn't going to leave his mom and dad alone with this scary man.

"Ash. Go...NOW!" Delia screamed the last word, which startled Ash into running. Then, almost superhumanly fast, the man sprinted towards Richard, plunging the sword into his abdomen before he could even react, twisting and contorting the blade all the while.

Richard's eyes opened wide as he felt the life escaping his body. With his last motion, he looked up to see his killers cold, black eyes.

"Why?" He muttered, more in anger than curiosity. At the last second, a flicker of recognition crossed his face before he fell to the ground, lifeless..

Delia screamed in horror at what she'd just witnessed. Her cries fell silent however, as almost instantly after Richard fell, she was in the same position, sword in her stomach, falling to the ground helplessly, and looking deep into the eyes of her killer.

What no one knew was that Ash had not ran very far, opting to hide behind a garbage can where he watched the scene unfold. He was trying to be quiet and hold back the tears and screams of terror, but witnessing both his parents die was more than enough to make the boy scream out.

"Mommy! Daddy! Anybody! HELP!" Ash screamed desperately.

The murderous man heard the squeals and slowly made his way toward Ash. He stood frozen in fear as he realized, that at the young age of eight, his life would be ended. The man stopped when he stood directly in front of the scared little boy, sword in hand, still dripping with the blood of his parents.

Before a move could be made, the familiar sound of police sirens could be heard turning the corner onto the street.

The man breathed a sigh of disappointment before beginning to walk away.

Before he got too far however, the man stopped and without looking back, spoke...

He said things...

Words that would change Ash's life forever.

Flashback End

"...And I don't think I have to remind you of what he said to me." Ash said in a matter of fact tone.

Although he'd already known the story, Gary stood there awestruck. He wasn't like Ash in the sense that he never cried, and so he did. He started sobbing quietly and slowly as his friend put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. It seemed kind of backwards all things considered, but neither of the men cared.

Gary remembered what Ash had told him; the words that the man had said to him before he fled. In fact, he was the only one that Ash had ever told what was said to him that night. These words were what'd forced him to change who he was, making his life nearly unbearable.

"This leads me to my problem, why I seem off right now..." Ash sighed, "I think...what he said...i-it's going to happen... I don't know how, or when, but I just have this feeling and it won't go away."

Ash looked down at the floor, revealing an emotion he rarely showed...

Fear.

Even when he knew he was about to be beaten up by Paul or when he was faced with some other dangerous situation, he rarely showed any signs of fear; not having much to lose will do that to a person. So instead of being scared he'd simply accept the situation and go on with his life. The man that'd stolen the lives of his parents was the only being that could truly strike fear into his heart.

Gary literally gasped as he heard what Ash said. He felt terror of his own crawling its way through his body, but when he noticed how scared Ash was, he decided he needed to push his own feelings away for the time being and reassure his friend.

"Ash." Upon hearing his name, Ash looked to Gary. "You said this is just a feeling, a hunch. Chances are, nothing will come of it."

"Well...sure, but what if-"

Gary cut Ash off, "But if you're right, and that's a big if, remember that you won't have to face this alone. I've always got your back no matter what. That's what brothers are for."

Ash couldn't help but allow a smirk find its way to his face as he let Gary's words sink in. His feeling of reassurance was short lived, however, as an overwhelming feeling of guilt made its way throughout Ash's body.

It was his fault that Gary had to be in this position. Gary would've never had to worry about this man had he never became friends with him. It was more than likely too late, but he had to try...

Allowing his thoughts to wander for a moment, Ash mumbled quietly.

"We are not brothers..."

"What?" Gary asked, hearing what was said, but not believing it.

"I said, YOU ARE NOT MY BROTHER! NEVER HAVE BEEN, AND NEVER WILL BE." Ash responded much louder, this time with anger evident in his voice. "So why don't you just get out of here and leave me alone... you're useless anyway."

Gary couldn't seem to respond. He stared at Ash with eyes filled with hurt and surprise. He couldn't believe what he was saying to him. He was speaking to him as he did all the other kids at his school.

And that's when it hit him.

His features lost all signs of being upset and changed to a look of compassion and understanding.

"Ash, I know what you're doing, and I'm telling you right now that it won't work...not on me."

"What the hell are you talking about you psycho!" Ash nearly screamed at Gary, who remained unfazed by this.

"Ash, I think you're forgetting something very important." Gary stated calmly.

Ash was now confused more than anything. He couldn't think of anything he'd forgotten.

"Don't you remember the first time we met? You said something similar to me that day. Do you remember?" Gary questioned.

Ash's face lost all signs of anger as he realized his act would never be successful, not on Gary. His face was now painted with guilt.

"Of course I do." Ash responded softly, with a sad smile. "I called you an asshole and told you to stay away from me."

Gary was now laughing as Ash put his hand behind his head in embarrassment.

Halting his laughter, but still retaining his smile, Gary spoke, "And do you remember what I did next?"

"...You sat down across from me." Ash now had a full smile on his face as he recalled the memory.

"That's right." Gary said. "If it didn't work then, when I didn't know you, then why would it work now that we've been best friends for years?"

Ash felt the guilt sweep through him again as he spoke, "I guess you're right. It's just, if you hadn't sat down with me that day and ignored me like all the others, then you wouldn't be in this position..."

"Would you shut up already!? I told you before and I will tell you again, no matter what happens, you will notbe facing this alone. Whether you like it or not, I'm going to be by your side no matter what!" Gary spoke determinedly.

Gary stuck his hand out for a handshake. Ash looked hesitantly at the hand and sighed, knowing he wouldn't be able to convince Gary of leaving him to handle this on his own. Without another thought, he clasped Gary's hand and gave it a firm shake with a smile on his face.

Inside, Ash was relieved that he had someone that he could count on.

His best friend.

His brother.

Barry ran out of the bathroom just as the stall began to open, narrowly avoiding being seen by the two boys. His mind was running a mile a minute, attempting to comprehend all the information that had just been revealed to him.

He still had a hard time believing any of it, but he couldn't come up with a good reason as to why they would be lying about it either. The feeling of confusion consumed him as he moved quickly through the hallway.

Having come from a sheltered home, something this extreme was hard to imagine. The worst thing that had ever happened to his family was a parking ticket.

"There is no way that story could be true... could it?" Barry asked himself, "I don't know what to think! I have to find Paul and the others and tell them about this, they'll know what to do!"

Barry started off on his search for his friends Paul, May, Misty, Dawn, and his brother, Kenny. As it was still between periods, the hallways were packed with kids, slowing him down greatly. His search was cut short, however, as the warning bell, signifying one minute before second period would start, rang out.

"Damn it... looks like I'll have to wait until lunch." Barry sighed as he walked to his next class.

…

…

The first half of the day seemed to be moving in slow motion to Barry. His mind was racing, and he was questioning many of the things he thought he once knew.

Barry continued this internal battle for the entirety of the first half of the day. It was in fourth period when he finally realized that the chances of what he'd heard not being true weren't very high. It were these thoughts that caused the boy to begin feeling something he'd never felt before:

Guilt.

He felt guilty for making Ash and Gary's lives more miserable than it seemed they were already. Barry was almost in a near panic, all of this information being too much for him to handle on his own. Luckily however, his next period was lunch and he would be able to get the opinions of his friends; Paul, Dawn, Misty, May, and his brother Kenny.

"My friends will know what to think. I just have to be patient..."Barry thought to himself, looking out the window whilst his chemistry teacher babbled on.

"Barry." Professor Elm, Barry 's Chemistry teacher said.

"Barry!" He called again, this time much louder, catching the boy's attention.

"If you like starring out windows so much, how about you get acquainted with the large one in the detentionroom after school today!?" Mr. Elm exclaimed.

"But Professor Elm, I was jus-" Barry couldn't finish his thought before Mrs. Elm jumped in again.

"How about two days of detention then!"

Barry sighed as he walked to the professors desk to pick up his freshly earned detention slips.

"Just great..." Barry thought to himself as he dragged himself back to his seat.

A/N: Well guys, that was the first chapter of my newest story, "Facade." Because today is the debut of the new story, I'll be posting another chapter in just a few days. I would post it sooner, but I have orientation for the college I'll be attending in the fall. As soon as I get back, I'll post the next chapter of "Facade."

I originally wanted to finish, "A Trial of Will" before I posted another story, but I just really wanted to get this one out; I'm super excited about the plot of this story.

REGARDING ACTUAL POKEMON IN STORY: In this story, pokemon DO exist. However, they are very rare, with battles and the like being even more of an anomaly.

To all of you that are also reading "A Trial of Will", you should know that I really like to take my time developing characters and the plot and that's even more important in this story since the characters will be out of character as well as the fact that this is an AU story. What I'm trying to say is to enjoy the first 6 or so chapters with a lot of build up and a decent amount of payoff as well, but also be excited for the intense action that is to come with the latter part of the story.

A fun fact about this story is that I actually started writing this way before I even had the idea for a Trial of Will. Also, I originally planned for this to be just a regular fiction novel, having nothing to do with pokemon. However, I decided to go the fanfiction route in the end because that is what I have the most fun doing.

Anyways, please leave a review telling me what you think of the story so far and what you're hoping to see, and don't hold back! Thank you all so much for supporting me and my work on this site, I appreciate it more than any of you could know. I hope you all stick around to see this story take off. As a hint I will say that when things really take off, (you'll definitely know when that happens) the plot of the story will involve something like a deadly game of sorts. That's all I'll say for now.

See Ya!